Apparatus of this kind is generally used in order to cool, in particular in summer, a flow of air to be conveyed into the passenger space, by bringing it into contact with the evaporator.
When it is desired to heat the flow of air before conveying it into the passenger space, the heat emitted by the thermal driving engine of the vehicle is normally used for this purpose.
In the case of an electric vehicle, the heat produced by the electrical driving system is not adequate, in winter, to meet the heating requirements of the passenger space. It is then necessary to provide an auxiliary heat source.
It is one object of the invention to make use of, for the heating of the passenger space, the existing air conditioning apparatus, without changing the direction of circulation of the refrigerant.
Another object of the invention is to limit the stresses to which the evaporator, in particular, is subjected, by improving the heat exchange efficiency.
Yet another object is to enable an optimisation of the disposition of the different components of the apparatus within the vehicle.